Orange County NC Website
ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: April 11, 2013 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. 2 <br />1 <br />SUBJECT: Employee Benefits Updates, Preliminary Renewal Estimates Regarding <br />Calendar Year 2014 Health Insurance, and Anticipated Health Care Reform <br />Components <br />DEPARTMENT: Human Resources PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />A. Plan Year Enrollment Highlights and <br />United Healthcare Activity <br />B. Proposed Timeline for Competitive Bid <br />Process <br />C. Powerpoint- Health Insurance Update <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Nicole Clark, Human Resources <br />Director, 245 -2552 <br />Diane Shepherd, Benefits Manager, 245- <br />2558 <br />PURPOSE: To provide an update on health insurance initiatives, preliminary health insurance <br />cost estimates for calendar year 2014, and the impact of Health Care Reform. <br />BACKGROUND: The County is in the second year of a contract with UnitedHealtcare (UHC), <br />which offers a traditional POS and high deductible plan. Although there was a considerable <br />amount of dissatisfaction immediately following the transition to UHC, staff recommended that <br />the County remain with UHC's fully insured plan for the 2013 plan year. <br />While the overall enrollment numbers remained constant when comparing 2012 and 2013, <br />there are 5 less enrollees in the Traditional Plan and 10 new enrollees in the High Deductible <br />Plan. New enrollments in our optional benefits decreased, as 2013 is the third year for these <br />offerings. <br />We have partnered with UHC to offer monthly programs geared to increase employees' <br />awareness of their health insurance benefits by hosting monthly programs. This was launched <br />in December with a Town Hall style meeting. Since then, UHC has hosted monthly seminars on <br />topics such as estimating health care costs and health and wellness online tools. For the <br />second year, Orange County and UHC have partnered for health screenings, which occurred in <br />February. Monthly activities are planned through the remainder of the 2013 Plan Year. <br />Attachment A provides an enrollment summary and lists the activities sponsored by UHC. <br />A competitive bid process will be conducted for the 2014 plan year and will include pricing for <br />fully insured and self- funded plans. Based on current trends, staff is projecting an 8% increase <br />in health care premiums. Due to the competitive process and the potential change in funding, <br />recommendations for a vendor and funding will be provided at the June 11, 2013 Work Session <br />